Figures of speech

1. Figures of speech “Poetry is not the thing said, but the way of saying it.” -A.E. Housman

2. Figurative language • Language that is always based on some kind of comparison that is not literally true…in other words, a figure of speech. • Instead of saying “I’m going to bed” which is literal, you can say “I’m gonna hit the hay.” • Although never literally true, they suggest a powerful truth to our imaginations.

3. Types of figurative language • Simile • Metaphor • Personification • Oxymoron • Hyperbole

4. Similes • A figure of speech that uses like, as, then or resembles to compare things that have nothing in common • Instead of saying “His face was red,” you could say “his face was like a stoplight.”

5. Similes (continued) • In a good simile, the connection must always be unexpected, but entirely reasonable • For example: “I wandered lonely as a cloud.”

6. Metaphors • Like a simile, a metaphor is a comparison between unlike things. • Metaphors do not have like, as, resembles, or than. • A metaphor says that something is something else • There are two different types of metaphor: • Direct metaphor • Implied metaphor

7. A direct metaphor compares two things by using a verb like is. Example: The city is a sleeping woman. An implied metaphor compares two things, but does it without stating it directly Example: The city sleeps peacefully. So, what’s the Difference?

8. Metaphors (continued) • Other implied metaphors are: - the long arm of the law - the table legs - this neck of the woods

9. Personification • When we give human characteristics to non-human things • Some examples are: * “Misery loves company” * “The future beckons”

10. Oxymoron • A combination of words that seem to contradict each other • Wise fool • Death in life • Sweet sorrow • Jumbo shrimp

11. Hyperbole • Using exaggeration for effect • It blew my mind • The boy got the snot beat out of him